The mage Frieren from the anime Sousou no Frieren ( Frieren: Beyond Journey's End ) has transcended cultural boundaries and become a trending topic on Chinese social media . A hyper-realistic mural of the character, painted on the facade of an old abandoned school in Jinan, has attracted attention for its impressive level of detail. Furthermore, many netizens even believed the artwork had been created by artificial intelligence .
The original video appeared on Douyin, the Chinese version of TikTok, and quickly spread. Meanwhile, comments raised doubts about the painting's authenticity. The integration of the character with the sky, the clouds, and the worn texture of the building seemed too perfect. However, local artists confirmed that it is a real painting, made by hand using traditional mural techniques and scaffolding.
The mural is part of a larger urban revitalization project. As part of this, the area also received artwork inspired by famous franchises like Naruto and Bleach . For many fans, seeing a direct reference to Sousou no Frieren in a historical space symbolizes cultural respect and the strength of anime among new generations.
Finally, this case reinforces how online anime continues to influence urban art around the world.
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